Mott Bears rebound from upset with tough win over Iowa Lakes in consolation round of national tourney

View full sizeFreshman guard Malik Albert led Mott with 20 points on 5-for-7 shooting in MCC's 73-68 win over Iowa Lakes C.C. on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 in the consolation round at the NJCAA National Tournament in Danville, Ill. Michael Tews | Mott Community College

The Mott Bears
won't get a shot at capturing another national title this year but the team
showed its pride on Wednesday in Danville, Ill.

With the win, Mott
will continue its NJCAA Tournament run on Friday at noon. MCC
will face the winner of the Phoenix College versus Cecil College game that will get played on Thursday morning.

"It was great
basketball by two good teams and both teams played with a lot of pride," Mott
coach Steve Schmidt said in an interview after the game. "That was a tough
adjustment yesterday but it makes you appreciate No. 1 how talented these teams
are and it makes me appreciate that I get to stay in Danville a little longer.
I'm selfish in that regard because it's just a great experience."

Freshman guard
Malik Albert led Mott with 20 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Devin Foster scored
14 points with five rebounds. Mott shot 54.9 percent as a team after its poor
31.6 percent effort in the 67-61 loss to Central C.C. on Tuesday. Albert rebounded from an atrocious game
against Central where he shot 1-17 from the field with two points.

Flint native
Deondre Parks contributed 12 points, hitting five of his six attempts for Iowa
Lakes. He entered the tournament as the leading scorer for Iowa Lakes as a
freshman averaging 15.2 points with 5.5 rebounds per game. Ben Shellim and Josh Schaben both added 14
points against Mott.

The victory
marked Schmidt's 28th win in the national tournament with nine
different teams. He holds the record for the best winning percentage (28-5) in national
tournament play.